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Developing the best care for clients and patients is a paramount aim of all health care practices, which therefore, should be based on best evidence. This is also crucial for care during the childbearing period here defined as pregnancy, childbirth, and infancy. However, due to dominance of the evidence-based medicine (EBM) model, health care practice has encountered problems especially regarding its relationship to qualitative research. In this article, we analyze and discuss how research based on a lifeworld perspective fits with evidence-based care (EBC), and how a circular model instead of a hierarchy is suitable when attributing value to knowledge for EBC. The article focuses on the history of EBM and EBC, the power of the evidence concept, and EBC from a narrow to a broad view. Further qualitative research and its use for developing EBC is discussed and examples are presented from the authors' own lifeworld research in the Nordic childbearing context. Finally, an alternative circular model of knowledge for EBC is presented. In order to develop evidence-based care, there is need for multiple types of scientific knowledge with equal strength of evidence, integrated with clinical experience, setting, circumstances and health care resources, and incorporating the experiences and clinical state of the childbearing woman and her family. Key words: Evidence-based care, evidence-based medicine, childbearing, Nordic countries, lifeworld research

There are many studies about nursing clinical settings and their problems, but the teaching style as a whole has not been widely studied. Therefore, this study aimed to explore nursing teachers' perceptions about teaching style in the clinical settings in Iran. A grounded theory approach was used to conduct this study. Fifteen nursing teachers were interviewed individually, 2006-2007. The interviews were tape-recorded and later transcribed verbatim. The transcriptions were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin's method. Three main and 12 sub themes emerged from data and these could explain the nature of the teaching style in clinical education of the Mashhad Faculty of Nursing and probably others in Iran. The main themes included: multiplicity in teaching style, nature of clinical teaching, and control and adaptation in education atmosphere. Multiplicity in teaching style was the dominant concept in this study. Each educator had a personal and individualized style which was flexible according to the situation, type of the skill (course content), education environment and facilities, and level of the learner. This study can guide nurse educators to know more about teaching styles and use them appropriately in the clinical settings. Further research into the themes of this study are recommended.